After 93 years, the Bracker’s Department Store in downtown Nogales, Arizona closed its doors. Owners blamed a steady decrease in the number of Mexican shoppers crossing the border amid long wait times at the border. Nick Oza/azcentral.com

Linda Valdez: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey sold himself as a businessman. So what's behind his un-businesslike approach to Mexico?

Martha Isabel Velasquez looks at a pair of boots while shopping in downtown Nogales, Ariz. Velasquez says she waited two hours in line to cross by foot over from Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, to go shopping. (AP Photo/Astrid Galvan)(Photo: Astrid Galvan, AP)

Most recent spending data is from 2008

Arizona’s information about Mexican tourists/shoppers is a decade old.

Much of what we know comes from a 2008 report done for the state and some municipalities by the University of Arizona’s Eller College of Management. After extensive research, the UA found Mexican visitors spent more than $7.3 million a day in Arizona stores, restaurants, hotels and other businesses.

That’s $7.3 million a day. In 2008.

The study was the fourth in a series that looked at the impact of Mexican tourists who legally enter through Arizona’s ports of entry to spend money in our state.

Those reports provided up-to-date information and tracked changes that could shape smart policies.

Apparently, Ducey gets the Amazon in Mexico thing. So why isn’t he more attentive to the individual Mexican customers Arizona already has?

Arizona could do more to expand its Mexican customer base and increase spending.

Mexican tourists with border crossing cards currently have to jump through an extra hoop and get an additional permit if they want to travel more than 75 miles north of the border. This extra step has made Tucson the main destination for shoppers, and created an unnecessary barrier that discourages travel to the Valley and the rest of the state.

During Ducey’s entire term in office, the Maricopa Association of Governments has been pushing to get the federal government to change the rule so that Mexicans who hold valid border crossing cards can travel – and spend – throughout Arizona.

This is not a security issue. These visitors have passed background checks and been issued border crossing cards by the U.S. government.

In addition to MAG, government associations across the state have endorsed the idea – including the one in Pima County, where Tucson is located.

In 2015, MAG asked the UA to look at the economic impact of expanding the border crossing zone statewide.

3 years later, Ducey still hasn't acted

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A U.S.-Mexico border wall could impede imports that Americans take for granted. And costs could rise. A USA TODAY NETWORK video production.

The report by Eller’s Economic and Business Research Center created “what if” scenarios using projections and assumptions largely based on that old 2008 study, as well as other data.

The report suggested that expanding the zone would increase the overall number of Mexican tourists and “generate up to $181 million in additional estimated spending and 2,179 additional jobs in 2016.”

It didn’t happen in 2016. It still hasn’t happened.

After the 2015 study was released – just months after Ducey became governor – his office responded to a question about the plan by saying he had not been briefed on the details.

A May 5, 2015 editorial in The Arizona Republicurged Ducey to support the idea and push the Department of Homeland Security to make an administrative change to expand the zone. Congress could also make the change.

Now, Juan Ciscomani, Ducey’s Tucson-based point man on Mexico, says the administration is supportive of the “concept,” but “we haven’t yet” endorsed it.

No contingency plan if NAFTA fails

Arizona has a lot at stake as the North American Free Trade Agreement is renegotiated. Donald Trump could slam his petulant fist down on what he calls “the worst trade deal ever.”

If the U.S. withdraws from NAFTA, it could cost more than 230,000 jobs in Arizona, according to a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study. A study by BMO Capital Markets said $5 billion in Arizona exports could be at risk.

Ducey has spoken in support of NAFTA, and Ciscomani says the state has made it clear Arizona is committed to the trade relationship. OK. Great.

But is there a contingency plan at the state level for what to do if NAFTA goes away? "We're doing all we can to advocate for NAFTA to stay," he says. So, no. There's no contingency plan.

These three issues – getting good data, expanding the customer base and contingency planning – should be priorities for a business leader who understands the value of Arizona’s relationship with Mexico.

Ah, but for a politician?

Well. A politician would have reason to be timid and avoid irritating the Republican base.

Especially if the politician is running for re-election in a state where Trump won with rabid anti-Mexico rhetoric.